Machinery for cutting and folding paper or other fabrics.



No. 7I0,080. Y Patented Sept. 30, |902.

` R. C. SEYMOUR. MACHINERY FOR. CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPEROR (ITHER FABRICS 5 Sheets-Sheet I` (Application led my 31, '19Q2.)

l(No Model.)

we mums pcrznfco: wom-umm wAsNINaYoN, D. c,

Patented sept. an, |902. l n. c. Semoun. MACHINERY FOR CUTTING MID FULDING PAPER 0R OTHER FABRICS.

(Application led May 31, 1902.) (llo Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

mi: nanars mns cc.. rumau'rnol. msmuu'ruu, e. c.

No. 7|0,080. Patented Sept. 30, |902.

R. C. SEYMOUR. MACHINERY FOB CUTTl-NG AND FDLDING PAPER 0R OTHER FABRICS.

(Appliaeion med my si, 1902.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

` (N0 Model.)

fn: mums PETERS co., Fumo-urna.. wAsHrxnToN. n. c.

Patented Sep. 30, |902.

' No. 7|o,oso.

n. lc. s evmoun. IIACI'IIIIEIIY FOR CUTTING AND FULDING PAPER OR'OTHER FABFIIGS.-

(Application Bled May 31, 1902.)

5 Sheets-Sheet fl.

A(llo Model.)

Tn: wams Pnans ca. Programma.. wAsH C y n. asemun.y A MACHINERY FUR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER-'0R UTI-IER FABRICS. (Application med xa'y s1, 1902.) (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

` Patented septo, |902.

UN L

PATENT FEIIC'V.

RALPH C. SEYMOUR, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR To O. B. COTTRELL a SONS COMPANY, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., AND STONTNG= TON, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OE NEW JERSEY.

MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER OR OTHER TAjBRiCS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent `N0.71,080, dated September 3D, 190Q.

Application filed May 31, 1902. Serial No. 109|608` (No model.) i

To @ZZ whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, RALPH C. SEYMOUR, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident such cutting, folding, and collection are ef-v fected.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l represents a side elevation of all c those parts of a cutting and folding: machine necessary for the illustration of my invention except the means for feeding the web; Figs( 2 and 3, vertical sections taken parallel with Fig. l through the feeding, cutting, folding,y and collecting devices, showing them at dif` ferent stages of their operation; Fig. 3*, a section corresponding with Figs. 2 and 3 of what is hereinafter termed the gripper-cylinder,

and part of what is termed the blade-cylin-= der; Fig. 4, a section of the folding and collecting devices corresponding with Figs. l and 2, but showing them at another stage of their operation; Fig. 5, a plan view taken below the cutters and showing only the folding and collecting devices; Fig. 6, a vertical section taken in the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, showing cams for operating the folding devices; Fig. 7, a transverse section of a cylinder herein-` after termed the gripper-cylinderg Fig. 8, an end view o tsaid cylinder, showing also in dotted outline a circular cam in front of said cylinder; Fig. 9, a central horizontal section of one of the gripper-operating cams; Fig.`

10, a longitudinal viewcf the grippers detached from their cylinder. Figs/7 to 1U are on a scale twice that of the preceding figures'.

A designates the framing of the machine, on the upper part of which are bearings for the shafts s s* of the feeding-rollers F F*, by which the web w is fed continuously to the cutting .and folding devices. Below these rollers there are arranged on said framing the bearings B for the two parallel horizontal cutter-shafts C C', on which 'are mounted the rotary cutter-carriers D, in which the cutting.-

blades or cutters E E', having their edges at 'equal distances .from the axes of their shafts C C", are secured and adjusted by screws a b. The said shafts C C` are geared together to runat the same speed by gears c c' and are represented as driven by a gear d on a driving-shafte, which Works in bearings on the framing A', the said gear d gearing with the gear c. ranged with their cutting edges oblique or spi-ral to the axes of their shafts, according to `United States Letters Patent of C. B. Cottrell, No.l 391,949. The said cutters, of

which there arel two pairs, one of ,each pair` attachedto each shaft, are according to the.

present invention arranged at unequal distances apart on their respective carriers, the spaces between their cutting edges taken onl a circle concentric with the axes of their shafts and'circumscribing their cutting edges being, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, two hundred and forty degrees in one direction and one hundred and Atwenty degrees in the opposite direction, so that in cutting sheets from awcb of paper w, presented' to them during their revolution, they will cut alternately a longer 'sheet and a shorter sheet, the -longer sheets cu't'vb'y the cutters E being twice the'le'ngth of the shorter ones cut by the cutters E'. Below the cutter-shaft, and cutters there are on the framingA bearings for the shaft G* of the horizontal cylinder-G, which carries the folding-blade f, and the shaft H* of the horizontal cylinder H, which `carriesthe folding-grippers g and h h',

.whichcoperate with said folding-blade to producea fold in each longer cut sheet at the middle of 'its*length. The 'said cylinders,

folding-blade, and folding-grippers, which I prefer to use in carrying out this invention and which I have illustrated, are in most respects essentially like those which are subject-matter of vmy United States Patent No. roo

I prefer that these cutters be ar 668,719; but for the purpose of this invention the folding-blade cylinder G has an eX- terior circumference three times that of the folding gripper-cylinder H. The two cylinders G H derive continuous rotary motion from the driving-gear d,`hereinbefore mentioned at a surface velocity slightly less than that of the edges of the cutters, allowance being made for the lap of the cut, the said gear d meshing with a gear t' on the shaft G* vof G, and the said gear i meshing with a gearj on the shaft H* of H, so that the blade-cylinder G makes one revolution for each revotion of the cutters and the gripper-cylinder H makes three revolutions for every one of the blade-cylinder and cutters. Between the cutters and the cylinders G and H there is a stationary guide M for the uncut end of the web and forlthecutsheets passing from the cutters to the said cylinders. The folding-blade f ot' the cylinder G is inserted and secured radially in an eccentric portion of a rockshaftfl, which is journaled in bearings in cheek-pieces j", secured to the ends of said cylinder, and it has fast on one end outside of the said cylinder an arm f2, which carries a truck-roller f3, which as the cylinder rotates runs in a stationary grooved cam f4, attached to tbe framing near one end of said cylinder by a bracket f5. The running of the rollerf3 in the cam f4 produces the oscillating movement of the folding-blade necessary to its coperation with the folding-grippers g and h h', as described in my United States patent aforesaid. The folding-grippers consist of two members g and h h', which are shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 7 and also in Fig. 10, which is a longitudinal view of said grippers. The gripper member or jaw g consists of the oiset greater portion of the length of a cranked rock-shaft, the journals g of which are fitted to bearings in check-pieces 1c, attached to the ends of the cylinder H, the axis of said journals being parallel with the axis of said cylinder and on a line with the periphery of the latter, in which there is a recess for the reception of the grippers. The gripper member h h consists of a rockshaft h and attached gripper-fingers h', the journals of said rock-shaft h being fitted to turn in bearings in the crank-arms g2 of the rock-shaft g g g2, which may be termed the main gripper-shaft, said gripper-fingers coperating with the face l2 of the jaw or member g. It will be understood that the member h h being journaled into the arms g2 of the member g both members move together about the pivots or journals g of the member g, but that the member h h has an independent pivotal movement relatively to that, g, for taking and releasing sheets. The grippers are intended to be kept normally closedor so nearly so, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7, as to allow the sheet which is to be folded to be tucked in between them by the folding-bladefand to gripV the so-tucked-in sheet, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and for the purpose of keeping them so closed the rock-shaft h is furnished at one end with an arm h2 (see Figs. 5, 7, and l0) to receive the pressure of a spring h3, which is coiled upon a rod h, which is connected with said arm h2 and which passes through a lug h5 on an arm g3, fast on one end of the main gripper-shaft,'said spring abutting against said lug. `On the end of said rod h4 which projects through the lug there is secured a stop-nut h6, which prevents the grippers from being so closely shut by the spring h3 as to prevent the folding-knife from tucking the creased sheet within them, a sucient opening being always left between them when shut to permit the blade to tuck or crowd the fold-line of the sheet between them. To facilitate the entry of the tucked fold -line between them, their edges are slightly beveled or rounded 01T, as shown in Fig. 7. The arm g8, above mentioned, on the main gri pper-shaft g g g2 carries a truck-roller g4, which is adapted to run in the face-groove of a non-rotative cam I, (see Figs. 5 and 6,) which surrounds the cylinder-shaft H*. The said shaft has on the other'en'd an arm g5, which carries a truck-roller ge, adapted to run in the face-groove of a non-rotative cam 1', (see Figs. 5, 8, and 9,) which surrounds the said shaft H*. These cams do not rotate, but are both capable of moving toward and from the ends of the cylinder parallal with the axis of the latter to permit such movement, and at the same time to hold them against turning they are provided, respectively, with squared hubs I* I*, which are tted to slide in boxes I2 on the framing A. In order that one of said cams may move toward the cylinder to receive in its face-groove the respective truckroller g4 or g6 while the other of said cams moves away from the cylinder to release its respective truck-roller g6 or g4 and that either cam may be operative while the other is inoperative, the said cams are connected each with one of two levers J J', (see Fig. 5,) having fixed fulcrums l Z in brackets aixed to the framing A, and these levers are connected together by a rod m. In Fig. 5 the cam I is shown in its operative position, with the roller g4 in engagement and the cam I in its inoperative position, with the roller g6 out of engagement. The purpose of the cam I is to IIO hold the grippers during approximately one y complete revolution of the cylinder H in the position shown in Figs. 3 and t--that is to say, with their cooperative faces tangential to said cylinder. The groove of the said cam in which the roller g6 runs is therefore of circular form and concentric with the axis of the gripper-cylinder, as indicated by the dotted circles in Fig. 8. The purpose of the cam I is to move the grippers to and fro between the tangential position above mentioned and the position shown in Figs. 2 and 7, in which their cooperative faces are radial to their cylinder, which operation, as will be understood by reference to the form of the cam shown in Fig. 6, takes placeduring about two-thirds of the revolution of the cylinder. The shifting of the two cams I and I', hereinbefore mentioned, is eected by means of a grooved cam K (see Figs. I and on an upright shaft K', which works in fixed bearings on .the-framing A, said cam receiving a truck-roller fn on 4the lever J. 4The said shaft Kis furnished atA its lower end with a bevel-gear L, through which it derives motion from a bevel-gear L on a short horizontal shaft L2,runnin g in fixed bearings on the framing A. This shaft-.L2 is furnished with a spur-gear L3, throughwhich it derives motion from the gear j on the gripper-cylinder. scribed are so proportioned that the cam K makes one revolution for every three revolu-y tions of the gripper-cylinder H androne revolution of the blade-cylinder G. The cam K is so shaped that it shifts the lever J and the cams I and I in either direction during about one-sixth of its own revolution or one-half of the revolution of the cylinder H and that during one-third of its own revolution or one complete revolution of the cylinder H it holds one of the cams I or I. inrits operative position and during another third it holds the other ofthe latter cams in its operative position. The arm g5 of the main gripper-shaft is connected with a lug g7 on the adjacent end of the cylinder by means of a pullingspring g8, which .turns the grippers to the tangential position shown in Figs..3 and 4, when the cams I I' areshifted to release the truck-roller g4 at the other. end of the saidshaft. To stop this turning movement of the grippers to the tangential position and stop the\.truck.roller g6 in the proper position to enter the circular concentric groove ofthe cam I, there is formed on the inner face of said cam, asshown in Figs. 5 and 9, a cylindrical hub 13, which forms a-continuation of the inner circumference of the said` groove. It has been hereinbefore stated that the grippers are kept normally closed. by the spring h3. (See Fig. 7.) .They are only opened for an instant once during every third revolutionA of their cylinder for releasing the collected sheets. This opening is produced by a small projection 14 (see Figs. 8 and 9) on the inner face of the cam-hub 13, against which at the proper time passes, as shown in Fig. 8, the end of an arm k7 ofthe rock-shafth. The said opening takes place while the. gripperfaces are in the tangential position shown in Fig. 3 and while the two cylinders G H are respectively at the stages of their revolution shown in that figure,.as will be hereinafter further described. To Vpermit the said lopening, recesses q* are provided in the face of the cylinder G for the reception of the gripperfingers h'. In both positions of the grippers, radial and tangential,theirlips always remain, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, opposite or substantiallyin line with the-axes of the journals g of their main shaft and coincident with the external surface of the cylinder. Atthe distance of one-third of the circumference. of the The severalY gears above-:de-

cylinder G, in rear of thefolding-blade f, there are provided any suitable number of pins o,v which. are arranged to protrude Vradially through holes in the .said cylinder, as shown in Figs. 3 and 3*, or to bewithdrawn thereinto, as shown in Figs. 2 Aand 4. The said pins are affixed in a rod o', which is carried withinthe cylinder, which is hollow, by the two arms o2 of a rock-shaft o3, which is journaled into the heads of the cylinder. On one endof this rock-shaft o?, outside of the cylinder, there is an arm o4, (see Figs. l and 5,) which carries a truck-roller o5, which as theV cylinder rotates runs againsta stationary cam o5, which surrounds the cylinder-shaft G*, said cambeing. carried by a bracket oion the framing A. 'Iheroller 05 is held to the cam bya spring o8, which is coiled upon a rod o9, which is connected with thev arm o4 and passes through a-lug 010, affixed to the adjacent cylinder-head, the said spring abutting between the said arm and the saidlug. The purpose of the pins ois to temporarily impale together, as shown invFigs. 3, 3f, and4, and, as will be presently described, a long sheet folded at the middle of its length by the folding-blade and grippers and the end of a short sheet presentedas shown. in Fig. 3, between `the two cylinders outside of the grippers. The gripper member g has in its face a series of holes for the reception of the ends of the said pins 0, and the gripper-iingers h are so spaced on their rock-shaft h IOO that the said pins may pass between them.

Under the cylinder there is .au endless tapecarrier p, between which and the said cylinder the sheets consisting of one folded sheet and one unfolded sheetare to be taken together to be conveyed by said tapes wherever desired-as, for example, to another folding apparatus to be folded together. The tapes of saidcarrier runon-tape-wheels p' on a shaft p2 and other tape-wheels on another shaft. (Not shown.) The movement of this carrier may be produced. by any suitable means. It is represented as produced by a spur-gear p3 011 the shaft p2, meshing with the gear t' on the cylinder G. The shafts ,s and s* of the Web-feeding rollers F F* are repre-`v sented (see Fig. 2) as driven withasurface speed corresponding with the speedofthe cutters andthe surface speed of the cylin-` ders G and H, by a gear Non the cutter-shaft C', which gears with and drives a gear q,turn- IIO ingon a fixed stud q@ supported by the framing A.. ThisA gear q gears withA and drives a gear rlonthe roller .F*. The said gear qalso gears with and drivesA a gear t, Aturningion va fixed stud t', supported by the framing A, and this gear t gears with and drives a gear u on the roller F. l; i

Having described thel construction andorganization of the several ,parts of, the machine, I will before describing consecutively the operations thereof .explain that the cylinders G II are so arranged relatively ,to each other and to the cutters that the distance bef Y tween the meeting-line of the folding-blade f and the folding-grippers g and 7L h' and the meeting-line of the edges of the cutters is sufflcien tly less than half the length of the sheets to be folded to allow the fold-line of said sheet to be tucked by the folding-blade as far as is necessaryinto the gripper members to commence the fold.

I will now proceed to describe the consecutive operations of cutting, folding, and collecting the sheets. Referring first to Fig. 2, the web w which is being fed between the cut ter-carriers and through the guide M has had its end or free edge w* carried down beyond the meeting-line of the folding-blade and grippers a distance equal to half the length of the long sheet w to be folded, having passed freely between the cylinders G and H before and until the grippers, with their cooperating faces radial to the cylinder H and the folding-blade in its radial relation to the cylinder G, had arrived at said meeting line and the bladef had commenced to tuck the folding-line of the sheet between the grippers. As soon as sufcient of the web for the other half of the length of the sheet has passed the cutters E the said cutters meet and sever the sheet. As the cylinders G H then continue their rotary motion and While the cylinder II makes one revolution and the cylinder G makes one-third of a revolution the sheet w' thus taken by the grippers is wrapped double around the cylinder H and its fold is thereby completed, the grippers having been in the meantime brought by the running of the roller gf of the main grippershaft in the cam I to the tangential position shown in Fig. 3 and retained in that position by the shifting of the cams I I' by the cam K to bring the roller gG of said shaft into the circular cam I. This one revolution of the cylinder H brings the fold-line, as shown in Fig. 3, just past the point at which the corresponding one-third revolution of the cylinder G brings the collecting-pins o of the latter cylinder toward the holes 15 in the gripper member g, while the continued feeding of the web has brought its free end w3, from which the long sheet w' had been cut off, even with the fold -line of that sheet, as shownin Figs. 3, 3*. As the pins o arrive opposite the holes l5 the cam o6 by its action upon the roller o5 of the shaft 03, which carries said pins o, causes the said pins to penetrate the doubled long sheet near the line of the fold and also to penetrate the web at a corresponding distance from its free end w3, the doubled long sheet and the said end being thus impaled on the said pins. A slight continuation of the rotation of the cylinder H carries the arm k7 of the gripper-shaft h, as shown in Fig. 8, past the projection 14 on the cam I/, and so produces the opening of the grippers, as shown in Fig. 3*, which leaves both the doubled sheet wl and the short sheet w3, which has now been cut from the web by the cutters E', impaled upon the said pins to be thereby carried to the tapecarrier p, upon which by the withdrawal of the pins o within the cylinder G they are left, the shorter one upon the folded longer one, to be taken by said carrier wherever desired. The withdrawal of the pins o at the proper time is effected by the action of the spring oS on the passing of the roller o5 beyond the prominent point of the offset of the cam o, as shown in Fig. 4. The two cuttingoperationsviz., one by the cutters E to cut the longer sheet and another by the cutters E to cut the shorter sheetthe folding of the longer sheet, and the collection of the two sheets upon the pins o all take place during little more than one revolution of the cylinder I-I and onethird of a revolution of the cylinder G. During the second and third revolutions of the cylinder H and two-thirds of a revolution of the cylinder G and the corresponding two-thirds of .a revolution of the cutters a suflcient length of the web is fed between the cutters to make another long sheet to be cut and folded7 as above described, and during said second revolution of the cylinder H the folded sheet is unwound from the said cylinder by its own revolution as the said sheet is drawn from it by the pins o. During the first revolution of the cylinder H, as above described, the roller g4 of the main gripper shaft remains in the cam I, and although by the movement of said roller in said cam during said revolution the grippers are turned from the radial position to the tangential position in which they commence the winding of the sheet on said cylinder and then turned back again this turning back is only incidental and immaterial, as the edges of the grippers always remain, as hereinbefore described, in line with the axis of the gripper-shaft and with the external surface of the cylinder. As the said first revolution terminates the cams I Il are shifted by the cam K, as before explained, and the cam I liberates the roller g4 and the main grippershaft, which is then instantaneously turned by the spring g8 to bring the grippers to the tangential position, in which they are stopped by the hub I3 of the cam, so that the roller gi of the main gripper-shaft will enter the circular groove of the cam I', wherein it will remain during the second revolution of the cylinder H, retaining the grippers in the tangential position during said revolution while the folded sheet is being unwound from said cylinder. During the third revolution of the cylinder H the cams I I are shifted by the cam K to move the cam I out of engagement from the roller g and bring the cam I into engagement with the roller g4 for the commencement of the repetition of the operations described of folding a new long sheet which is to be cut from the web by the next meeting of the cutters E.

Vhat I claim as my invention isl. The combination with means forcontinuously feeding a web, of two rotary cuttercarriers geared together and each having` .upon it a plurality of cutters arranged at unequal distances apart for cutting sheets of different lengthfrom the web during each revolution of said cutters, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination with means for continuously feeding a web, of two rotary cuttercarriers and shafts therefor geared together and each having two cuttingblades the spaces between the edges of which on a circle concentric with the axes of their shafts are unequal in opposite directions for cutting sheets of different length from the web during each revolution of said cutters, substantially as herein described.

3. The combination of two rotary cuttercarriers and shafts therefor geared together and each having two cutting blades the spaces between the edges of which on a circle concentric with the axes of their shafts are two hundred and forty degrees in one direction and one hundred and twenty degrees in the opposite direction for cutting at each revolution two sheets one of which is double the length of the other, substantially as herein described.

4. The combination with two rotary cuttercarriers each having two cutter-blades whose edges are spaced at two hundred and forty degrees and one hundred and twenty degrees apart as described, of two rotary cylinders of which one is of a circumference three times that of the other, a folding-blade carried by the larger of said cylinders, folding-grippers carried by the smaller of said cylinders and cooperating with said folding blade and means for producing the rotation of said cylinders and cutter-carriers with a surface Velocity of the cylinders corresponding with that of the cutter edges, substantially as herein set forth.

5. The combination with two folding-cylinders one of which is provided with a foldingblade and the other of which is provided with folding-grippers cooperating with said blade, of impaling-pins carried by the first-mentioned cylinder and cooperating with said grippers to take folded sheets therefrom, substantially as herein described.

6. The combination of two folding-cylinders, a folding-blade carried by one of said cylinders, a rock-shaft provided. with gripper members pivoted on the other of said cylinders and impaling-pins on the first-specified cylinder, one of said gripper members having in it holes for the reception of the ends of said impaling-pins,substantially as herein described.

7. The combination of two rotary foldingcylinders one of which is provided with a folding-blade and the other of which is provided with grippers consisting of one member directly pivoted to the cylinder and the other member pivoted to said directlypivoted member, and a spring between the two members for holding them in a closed or nearlyclosed condition at the time Vof entry of the folding-blade between them in the rotation of the two cylinders, substantially as herein described.

8. The combination of two rotary foldingcylinders one of which is provided with a folding-blade and the other of which is provided with grippers consisting of onel member directly pivoted to the cylinder and the other member pivoted to said directly pivoted member, a spring between the two members for closing them, and a stop between the two members against which the spring holds them nearly closed at the time of the entry of the folding-blade between them in the rotation of the two cylinders, substantially as herein described. t

9. The combination of two rotary cuttercarriers and cutting-blades thereon spaced to cut a longer and a shorter sheet at each revolution, two rotary cylinders one of which is provided with a folding-blade and the other lwith folding-grippers cooperating with said blade to fold a longer sheet presented between said cylinders, pins carried by the first-specified cylinder and cooperating with said grippers first to impale together an unfolded shorter sheet presented between said cylinders and the so-tolded lon ger sheet and afterward to take both sheets together from between the cylinders, substantially as herein described.

10. In a folding-machine, the combination with a rotary cylinder, a rock-shaft journaled on said cylinder and grippers carried by said rock-shaft, of a cam located at one end of said cylinder and engaging with said rock-shaft for turning the same to bring the grippers to a position radial or tangential to said cylinder, a cam located at the other end of said cylinder and engaging with said rock-shaft to hold the grippers in the tangential position, connections between said cams and means for moving them together to place either one into engagement and the other one out of engagement with the rock-shaft, substantially as herein described.

1l. In a folding-machine, the combination of a horizontal rotary cylinder, a rock-shaft journaled on said cylinder and grippers carried by said rock-shaft, a non-rotative cam located at one end of said cylinder for engaging with said rock-shaft for turning the same to bring the grippers radial or tangential to said cylinder, a non-rotative cam located at the other end of said cylinder and engaging with said rock-shaft to hold the grippers in the tangential position, the said cams being movable toward and from the ends of the cylinder, connections between said cams whereby when either one is moved toward the cylinder into engagement with said rock-shaft the other is moved from the cylinder and out of engagement with the rock-shaft, and an upright shaft on which is a cam for moving IOO lIIO

gential to the cylinder, and a projection on said cam for operation on said second rockshaft to open the grppers while in their tangential position, substantially as herein described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 29th day of May, 1902.

RALPH C. SEYMOUR.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, LIDA M. EGBERT. 

